[hurds]

We know what makes BB10 unique, differentiated and awesome.

In some discussions here QNXs capabilities are argued against. Thats fine. But to make a better dicussion of it we shoud look at the other side.

What makes Android and iOS so great?

Large app market. Great. But that took time and can be created on any platform with user support (which is why its dumb to cheer on these too and and bash anyone without it, unless you don't want choice. Consumers have the power to create large app catalogues on any platform they want)

I think BB10 is a better platform with many advantages over the others. But even if people think it doesn't, what advantages long term and short does Android and iOS have?

[jonno_atamaniuk]

Android's biggest advantage is also, incidentally, its biggest problem: It's completely customizable. It can, in the right hands, be tooled to work and look almost completely how you want it to. A great example is how within the app menu, Samsung scrolls left to right through your app selection while HTC (and I think most others) scroll vertically through your apps. Its customizability is what has given it such a large following within the hacking community, where programers have created entire roms designed to give themselves the absolute best interface for their own purposes (or to help others). Their open take actually helped a lot of users when Samsung announced a vulnerability with devices that used its exynos quad-core chips (Galaxy S3 / Note 2), someone in the XDA forums whipped up a temporary fix to the vulnerability to tide the slightly more savvy users over until Samsung put out their own update to their firmware.

Apple's biggest advantage with iOS is how it's completely uniform every time, and incredibly simple. It's not a complex device to operate, and that's how it's always been designed. Simple, straight forward...

Those are the things that both platforms started off with, and what they still hold to now as well. They've both matured and become more and more robust with features, but BB10 can almost certainly begin to get closer and closer to matching many of the "best" features of other mobile platforms while continuing to give its own special features that would continue to make it the best choice for people who communicate frequently and need to get things done.

[z1nsane]

First of all, anything I say should not be applied to ALL users of the respective OSes.

I find iOS' fundamental advantage is usability. The OS is so simple that babies (as in two years old and younger), tech-illiterate, and mentally challenged (I can only say this with confidence for autistic children) can learn to use it with limited to no instructions. But ever since they started copying/adding features like multitasking and the notifications bar, it's become a more complicated UI. Despite never owning an iPhone, I end up teaching people how to close apps. And everything "Just Works" (with a few exceptions like when Apple released their maps app). As for the app gap, there is a first mover's advantage in the sense that some people don't want to spend money on apps they already purchased. And with the "I want it now" consumers, they don't want to wait for the app gap to close.

I have limited experience with Android, but I think its key selling points are that it's customizable and it has a lot of eye candy features.

I originally chose BlackBerry because all my close friends had BlackBerry smartphones and all but one still do. With regards to the OS, I chose to upgrade to the Z10 because I wanted a universal inbox like the one I loved on my 9700 and 9780, and I wanted to something that is a pocket organizer out of the box.

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[Iamanonymous62]

Hurds wrote: "I think BB10 is a better platform with many advantages over the others"
And you think you will convince others of this? Good Luck!

[dbmalloy]

For me it is not a point of which is better.... It is what works best for the individual.... For some simplicity is important ... for others customization is important.... while others find communication is paramount.... folks should just research ... choose what is important.... the trouble starts when you seem to find a need to defend your choice..... because the features of another phone may not work for you does not make it a bad phone... this is what inevitably happens.....

[hurds]

Some good summaries.

QNX/BB10 has some unique advantages. I think in time they will become more evident even if they aren't to some now.

At a fundamental level iOS or Android don't seem to have any advantage over any operating system. Because of this I don't see them as being real players in the long term.

[hurds]

Hurds wrote: "I think BB10 is a better platform with many advantages over the others"
And you think you will convince others of this? Good Luck!

Its not my intent. Its advantages are intrinsic to itself. People will come to this conclusion on their own.

[mooda]

For me it is not a point of which is better.... It is what works best for the individual....

This is it exactly. We use what is best for us. Anyone trying to play the my phone is better for your phone is looking for attention. As long as the device you have serves your needs than all is good with the world.


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[glidewells]

The initial release of this OS is by far ahead of the first releases of IOS and Android and it should only get better from here.

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[RubberChicken76]

Thanks for posting this thread and thanks for the intelligent responses so far.

I find iOS to be extremely easy. It's totally a nice, simple OS to navigate. Some things aren't as easy to get a handle on, but the same can be said of any OS. I seldom have the whole OS 'freeze' too.

Android: I've tried a few times and I just don't like it. No real technical limitation. I just find it to be overwhelming and kid of ugly on devices I've seen. If someone likes customization, this is the way to go. I just find things are hitting me from all sides. It's the type of thing that would make my engineering friends drool but my non-engineering friends call a 'nerd phone'. If someone issued one to me at work, i'm sure I could make it do every single thing I wanted it to do and do it well. Just don't like it.

BlackBerry 10/PlayBook. It's also really simple to latch onto once you get the hang of the gestures. I love navigating between apps on the device. I'm a multi-tasker by nature and the flipping between apps is much easier here than on my iPhone. Some glitches to be worked out, but it's decent. I still get app crashes on PlayBook and occasionally "black screen of death" though.

Windows Phone. (Since it's not mentioned here). I love the look and feel of this OS. I applaud Microsoft for trying something totally different. I think it's beautiful and inventive. I would absolutely buy one before I'd buy an Android device (Nokia Lumia is beautiful hardware too) and would only choose Apple over it because of apps and BlackBerry over it because I like the navigation of BlackBerry 10. But should get more accolades than it does, IMO.

[jimread1949]

I believe that the two operating systems that will eventually be at the top will be BB and windows, for the following reasons. ios and Android are both good in their own right for differing reasons, but it's what they don't have that will see them reduce in importance. Windows for example has its own advantage set that as BYOD becomes more adopted will build its strength. These are Microsoft Office, MSProject, Skype, all used extensively both inside and outside the business community and of course owned by MS. In Blackberry's case you have its security, Balance, and record of both government and business organization and support, coupled with their data encryption that will see them survive. All of them can play games and take pictures, but that will not keep them in the game.

[Bbnivende]

I think we will see Android and iOS versions of the BB10 multi-tasking features very soon . Too soon for BB to make a beach head ? The touch phones are becoming a commodity.

What Happens If Smartphones Become Commodities? | PandoDaily

I think there is room for BB10 as the third OS but they need to speed up their market penetration through licensing . With increased market share, the apps will come. I think we need a HTC or Sony BB10 phone and a company like Asus or Lenovo making BB10 tablets to flesh out the ecosystem.

[danprown]

Apart from the technical advantages (just by default, any OS has its pros and cons), the main advantage of Andorid and iOS is the deep integration within the respective ecosystems not only of apps, but of services provided by Google and Apple.

These services cannot be created by customers or users, e.g. app developers, because they do not have the market power or desire to do so. By services I mean things like E-mail, Maps, Search, Sync, Storage, Content and access to content, etc.

People today have traded in their privacy for convenience and in exchange for that privacy, Google and Apple have created an immersive experience where users can seamlessly travel across devices without having ever to leave it.

In that regard, QNX's shortcoming is that it is backed by BBRY at this point, and there is no such experience created or backed by BBRY. No apps, no services. The only strongpoint for BB10 appears limited to the security and privacy aspect (which is also debatable because no one really knows what access BBRY has granted to governments), but that also is an open question in the long run because up to now, neither Google nor Apple have had any real intention to focus on security and privacy.

Whether you can swipe, "multi-task" or run two youtube videos and answer a call, are in essence gimmicks, and technically all the major OSs can be tweaked to do it at some level, maybe some better than the other.

Any platform is as good as the ones working on it. Google, Apple and even Microsoft > BBRY.

[jlbdca]

One inbox: the hub. I don't know why iPhone and Android don't have it (Windows Phone does). I love it, and I hear friends on other platforms request it.

[RubberChicken76]

By services I mean things like E-mail, Maps, Search, Sync, Storage, Content and access to content, etc.

I get what you're saying, generally agree, though not sure I fully agree in at least a few respects. I use both BlackBerry products (PlayBook) and Apple products (iPhone, iPod, and Apple TV) together.

In the case of email, I find little difference. I use iCloud on my iOS devices, my Mac and my PlayBook. iCloud provides my email, my calendar and my contacts. It syncs between all three without an issue. I also use GMail to a lesser extent. It would be nice if BlackBerry would perhaps have their own service to do this, but you don't need an IPhone to see you iCloud calendar or contacts or email. I launch my PlayBook browser and it searches for whatever I want without calling up google.com.

The content and content storage is one that's nice (in theory) but has serious limitations in practice. iCloud works great at accessing iCloud documents. Apple did a great job. Except I use Word, Excel and PowerPoint. That, it doesn't do at all so it's kind of useless for me. I can AirDrop between Macs (not bad) but this service doesn't seem to work on iOS between iPhone and Mac.

[Bbnivende]

I believe that the two operating systems that will eventually be at the top will be BB and windows, for the following reasons. ios and Android are both good in their own right for differing reasons, but it's what they don't have that will see them reduce in importance. Windows for example has its own advantage set that as BYOD becomes more adopted will build its strength. These are Microsoft Office, MSProject, Skype, all used extensively both inside and outside the business community and of course owned by MS. In Blackberry's case you have its security, Balance, and record of both government and business organization and support, coupled with their data encryption that will see them survive. All of them can play games and take pictures, but that will not keep them in the game.

Phones are primarily consumer devices used for communication and to consume media. Windows 8 was meant to bridge the gap between business/personal computers and phones. So far the world has not bought into Windows 8. Apple/Android are on 90% of the Smartphones sold. WP8 has been available for a while now and in the critical USA market they have stalled. The problem that BB has is that they needed to have a great phone/OS right out of the box and many say not great just good . The question being can they improve both hardware and software soon enough to take root in a way that WP8 has so far failed to do?

[Iamanonymous62]

I believe that the two operating systems that will eventually be at the top will be BB and windows, for the following reasons. ios and Android are both good in their own right for differing reasons, but it's what they don't have that will see them reduce in importance. Windows for example has its own advantage set that as BYOD becomes more adopted will build its strength. These are Microsoft Office, MSProject, Skype, all used extensively both inside and outside the business community and of course owned by MS. In Blackberry's case you have its security, Balance, and record of both government and business organization and support, coupled with their data encryption that will see them survive. All of them can play games and take pictures, but that will not keep them in the game.

Your assuming the OS's don't evolve over time. BB just evolved from OS7 to BB10, you don't think the others will?

[BlackBerry Guy]

These services cannot be created by customers or users, e.g. app developers, because they do not have the market power or desire to do so. By services I mean things like E-mail, Maps, Search, Sync, Storage, Content and access to content, etc.

BlackBerry realized their shortcomings with services during the transition to BB10 a while back and decided to partner with 3rd party companies. You'll find Tom Tom based maps, Evernote, Box, Dropbox integration, and a fully stocked music and movie catalog for download among other things on the Z10. But it sounds like you don't actually have one

[RubberChicken76]

The question being can they improve both hardware and software soon enough to take root in a way that WP8 has so far failed to do?

The big advantage they have over Windows Phone is that they have a BlackBerry base to update. Windows Phone has to essentially poach from other platforms and/or grab a share of new Smartphone buyers. BlackBerry does have to do that, but can also draw from the existing 76 million active users of BlackBerry OS. Even after years of scorn, criticism, abandonment and the like in the U.S. along with not having a competitive product for three years, there are still twice as many BlackBerry users in the US than Windows Phone users in the U.S. And a bunch of potential "return" customers who left but are willing to try again.

[christenmartin]

I believe that the two operating systems that will eventually be at the top will be BB and windows, for the following reasons. ios and Android are both good in their own right for differing reasons, but it's what they don't have that will see them reduce in importance. Windows for example has its own advantage set that as BYOD becomes more adopted will build its strength. These are Microsoft Office, MSProject, Skype, all used extensively both inside and outside the business community and of course owned by MS. In Blackberry's case you have its security, Balance, and record of both government and business organization and support, coupled with their data encryption that will see them survive. All of them can play games and take pictures, but that will not keep them in the game.

I tend to agree with you. I have a PlayBook and a lumia 920. I have been impressed with how intuitive and smooth QNX is since I got the PlayBook and I have had the lumia for about 2 months and it continually impresses me with integration and it is fast, stable, and smooth. Using ios or android I am not impressed. That being said a lot of people are obviously. My point is QNX and wp are not second in functionality to either. It is a matter of marketing and buzz. Ios is kind of old hat and android is android, putting something new out every 10 mins. That being said it is up to bb and wp to sell their product.

[Bbnivende]

The big advantage they have over Windows Phone is that they have a BlackBerry base to update. Windows Phone has to essentially poach from other platforms and/or grab a share of new Smartphone buyers. BlackBerry does have to do that, but can also draw from the existing 76 million active users of BlackBerry OS. Even after years of scorn, criticism, abandonment and the like in the U.S. along with not having a competitive product for three years, there are still twice as many BlackBerry users in the US than Windows Phone users in the U.S. And a bunch of potential "return" customers who left but are willing to try again.

Not sure that WP8 is an issue this year for BB ... Can they sell enough BB10 devices in the USA to get traction in the market place or will they stall out as WP8 has ?

I think they need to grow their base to 8% of the USA market this year (10.6 mill BB's) . They have 5.4% in BB7 devices ( 7mill ) but I am thinking that that base will drop to about 3% (4 million) . Not all of the BB7 drop off will go to BB10 so basically I am hoping that they sell 4.6 million BB10's to converts and 2 million to current users. I say they need to gain traction, in order to get the banks etc who make useful apps, back on board.

It is true that their current world base is significant but a good portion of that base is in countries that will not be converting to BB10 on a wide scale basis this year or even next year. BB needs the USA market to return to a semblance of health for BB to prosper. I think BB can do it.

[infamyx]

It is true that their current world base is significant but a good portion of that base is in countries that will not be converting to BB10 on a wide scale basis this year or even next year. BB needs the USA market to return to a semblance of health for BB to prosper. I think BB can do it.

I dont see BB getting a good push in the US to be honest, with the massive ad budget Samsung has for its GS4 and of course Apple and their marketing and word of mouth it is going to be a serious uphill charge to get users back into the fold.

I will say BBRY realizes they have zero chance of surviving if they rely solely on the high end of the spectrum like Apple does, so if the R-Series comes out quickly and is priced attractively it could help BBRY in markets theyve been strong in and get users converted quickly

[o4liberty]

The ease of navigating around a blackberry make its a winner for me. Now with the Z10 blackberry has done it again it is so easy to navigate around the BlackBerry 10 system like no other device.

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